Aspects of the nutrition and the growth ofrhodococcus rubrain relation to the formation of stable foams

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Abstract
The formation of stable foams on activated sludge plants has been associated with specific microbial species, a lowering of the surface tension and the presence of fats and oils in the incoming sewage. This paper examines one of the causative microbes; Rhodococcus rubra; and in particular, how its growth and surface activity changed during fermentations in which the substrates had been supplemented with a range of straight chain alkanes or with the corresponding carboxylic acids. The results showed that the alkane supplements did enhance the growth; the degree of enhancement increasing with chain length. However, no growth was obtained with the lower (< C‐13) acids.